❓ A WA parliamentary question probes the Local Government Amendment (Rating of Certain Mining Licences) Bill 2025, focusing on consultation, financial impacts on local governments, and the rationale behind rating exemptions. The government's response largely deflects financial responsibility to local governments and emphasizes restoring the pre-court ruling understanding.
AnsweredQoN 1565Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
I refer to the Local Government Amendment (Rating of Certain Mining Licences) Bill 2025, and I ask : (a) What consultation took place in regards to the creation of the amendments; (b) Which groups were consulted; (c) How did consultation take place; (d) How long did the consultation period last; (e) Acknowledging the Government’s stance is that local governments should not have been rating on miscellaneous mining licences, has the State Government completed any modelling to determine the amount that has been rated: (i) If yes, what is the amount and if no, why not; (f) Given local governments had found a lawful method of rating in the eye of the court system, why isn’t a fund being considered to help mitigate loses for the affected local governments; (g) How will this amendment affect holdings that are currently unoccupied but still subject to mining tenements; (h) How will any changes be communicated to stakeholders; (i) Has the State Government completed any research to determine the impacts on local governments with regard to the returning of the rates collected: (i) If yes, what were the results; (j) In areas where these licences overlap with pastoral leases, Indigenous lands or community access areas, how will local governments manage consultation and community engagement around new or changed rateability; (k) For councils that included this income in their budgets, how does the Government expect them to manage the shortfall; (l) Has the Government been transparent in estimating the total revenue foregone and the broader financial impacts on affected councils; (m) What assessment has been done of the additional administrative workload for local governments including amending rate records, processing refunds, and reissuing notices; (n) Who will bear the cost of the work to determine how much is owed in rates; (o) Will the Government provide any funding or technical support to help local governments update systems, identify affected properties, and communicate with licence-holders; (p) For small prospecting or miscellaneous licence holders who remain exempt, how does the Government justify their use of local infrastructure without contributing through rates; (q) Are there safeguards to ensure that communities hosting these tenements benefit from any uplift in local revenue; (r) For rateable years dating back to 1 July 2018, does the Bill impose any retrospective obligations, liabilities, or reliefs on councils or licence-holders; (s) Does the State Government anticipate whether these retrospective changes create confusion for ratepayers or disputes between local governments and tenement holders; and (t) Does the State Government anticipate any unintended consequences as a result of this Bill, such as companies restructuring their licences to avoid rateability, or councils hesitating to rate certain tenement types due to administrative complexity or equity concerns?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
17 February 2026
Responded by
Minister for Local Government
Response time
1 days
(a) – (d) The State Government consulted with the sector and industry peak bodies during the development of the Local Government Amendment (Rating of Certain Mining Licences) Bill 2025 (Bill). The Western Australian Local Government Association, Local Government Professionals WA, the Association of Mining and Exploration Companies, and the Chamber of Minerals and Energy of WA were consulted. Consultation meetings took place on 6 October 2025.
(e) Local governments are responsible for determining whether land is rateable in accordance with the Local Government Act 1995. Accurate modelling would require access to individual rates notices, which are held by each local government. As these records are not held by the State Government, modelling has not been undertaken.
(f) The intent of the Bill is to restore the long-standing understanding and practice, prior to the Supreme Court ruling, that miscellaneous mining licences on Crown land are not rateable.
(g) Land that is subject to rateable mining tenements will continue to be rateable.
(h) The Department of Local Government, Industry Regulation and Safety (LGIRS) will provide guidance to local governments and other stakeholders following the anticipated passage of the Bill using its website and other appropriate communication channels.
(i) The State Government does not hold the individual rating records required to undertake such research.
(j) Local governments will continue to engage with ratepayers as they currently do, as part of public notice requirements and consistent with the long-held understanding that miscellaneous licences on Crown land were not rateable.
(k) The long-standing understanding prior to the Supreme Court ruling was that miscellaneous mining licences on Crown land were not rateable. However, if a local government experiences a shortfall in the 2025-26 financial year by charging rates on miscellaneous licences following the Supreme Court ruling, it may need to address future-year budget impacts by varying their rate in the dollar to maintain their budgeted revenue targets.
(l) Refer to the responses provided at (e) and (i).
(m) These administrative tasks are matters for individual local governments and will vary depending on whether they have been aligning with the long-standing understanding that these licences are not rateable, as well as the efficiency of their existing administrative systems that are already required under the Local Government Act 1995 for rating processes.
(n) This is a matter for individual local governments.
(o) This is the responsibility of individual local governments. LGIRS will provide guidance to local governments on their obligations after the anticipated passage of the Bill.
(p) Miscellaneous licences and small prospecting licences are exempt because they are ancillary in nature and, in the case of miscellaneous licences, always coexist with other rateable mining tenements. Rating these licences would risk double-charging when the associated mining tenement is already subject to the payment of rates.
(q) The imposition of rates is determined by individual local governments as part of their overall budget planning, which considers all rateable land rather than isolated tenements. Communities hosting these tenements continue to benefit through rates on other rateable mining tenements and existing revenue mechanisms that may be applicable through State Agreements.
(r) The Bill introduces provisions to address rates imposed, and any liabilities arising, in relation to the exemptions it establishes for rating years from 1 July 2018. These matters are set out in detail in the relevant clauses of the Bill.
(s) The Bill provides clarity and greater certainty for both local governments and the resources sector. Its application is explicitly set out in the Bill, which will help minimise confusion. These provisions will also be communicated to stakeholders following the Bill’s anticipated passage.
(t) The State Government does not anticipate companies restructuring their licences, noting that the non-rateability of this land has long been widely understood and there is no evidence of such behaviour occurring under that understanding. LGIRS will provide guidance to local governments to support implementation of the reforms. As with any reform, impacts will be monitored following the Bill’s anticipated passage.
(e) Local governments are responsible for determining whether land is rateable in accordance with the Local Government Act 1995. Accurate modelling would require access to individual rates notices, which are held by each local government. As these records are not held by the State Government, modelling has not been undertaken.
(f) The intent of the Bill is to restore the long-standing understanding and practice, prior to the Supreme Court ruling, that miscellaneous mining licences on Crown land are not rateable.
(g) Land that is subject to rateable mining tenements will continue to be rateable.
(h) The Department of Local Government, Industry Regulation and Safety (LGIRS) will provide guidance to local governments and other stakeholders following the anticipated passage of the Bill using its website and other appropriate communication channels.
(i) The State Government does not hold the individual rating records required to undertake such research.
(j) Local governments will continue to engage with ratepayers as they currently do, as part of public notice requirements and consistent with the long-held understanding that miscellaneous licences on Crown land were not rateable.
(k) The long-standing understanding prior to the Supreme Court ruling was that miscellaneous mining licences on Crown land were not rateable. However, if a local government experiences a shortfall in the 2025-26 financial year by charging rates on miscellaneous licences following the Supreme Court ruling, it may need to address future-year budget impacts by varying their rate in the dollar to maintain their budgeted revenue targets.
(l) Refer to the responses provided at (e) and (i).
(m) These administrative tasks are matters for individual local governments and will vary depending on whether they have been aligning with the long-standing understanding that these licences are not rateable, as well as the efficiency of their existing administrative systems that are already required under the Local Government Act 1995 for rating processes.
(n) This is a matter for individual local governments.
(o) This is the responsibility of individual local governments. LGIRS will provide guidance to local governments on their obligations after the anticipated passage of the Bill.
(p) Miscellaneous licences and small prospecting licences are exempt because they are ancillary in nature and, in the case of miscellaneous licences, always coexist with other rateable mining tenements. Rating these licences would risk double-charging when the associated mining tenement is already subject to the payment of rates.
(q) The imposition of rates is determined by individual local governments as part of their overall budget planning, which considers all rateable land rather than isolated tenements. Communities hosting these tenements continue to benefit through rates on other rateable mining tenements and existing revenue mechanisms that may be applicable through State Agreements.
(r) The Bill introduces provisions to address rates imposed, and any liabilities arising, in relation to the exemptions it establishes for rating years from 1 July 2018. These matters are set out in detail in the relevant clauses of the Bill.
(s) The Bill provides clarity and greater certainty for both local governments and the resources sector. Its application is explicitly set out in the Bill, which will help minimise confusion. These provisions will also be communicated to stakeholders following the Bill’s anticipated passage.
(t) The State Government does not anticipate companies restructuring their licences, noting that the non-rateability of this land has long been widely understood and there is no evidence of such behaviour occurring under that understanding. LGIRS will provide guidance to local governments to support implementation of the reforms. As with any reform, impacts will be monitored following the Bill’s anticipated passage.
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